Kirk Whalum

Kirk Whalum is an American jazz saxophonist who also plays pop, rock and gospel music. Born into a musical family, he played in his high school marching band in Memphis, Tennessee, and sang in a church choir. He has played with many top artists such as Whitney Houston and Luther Vandross, toured internationally and taught music. He made his recording debut in 1985 with the studio album 'Floppy Disk' followed by many releases including 'And You Know That', which topped Billboard's Contemporary Jazz albums chart in 1988. 'The Promise' (1989) went to number seven on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart; 'Caché' (1993) topped the chart; 'In This Life' (1995) peaked at number 12; 'Joined at the Hip' (1996) with keyboard player Bob James, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance, and 'Colors' (1997) both reached number ten; 'For You' (1999) number four; 'The Gospel According to Jazz - Chapter I' (1999) number 15; 'Unconditional' (2000), which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album and featured the track 'There You'll Be', which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Performance, number two; 'Hymns in the Garden' (2001) number 18 and 'The Christmas Message' (2001), which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album, peaked at number 14. 'Groovin' (2002) went to number four on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart; 'The Gospel According to Jazz - Chapter II' (2002), which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, hit number eleven; 'Into My Soul' (2003) reached number seven; 'Kirk Whalum Performs the Babyface Songbook' (2005) number two; 'Roundtrip' (2007), which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album, number two; 'Promises Made: The Millennium Promise Jazz Project' (2008) number five; 'The Gospel According to Jazz - Chapter III' (2010) hit number two and featured the track 'It's What I Do' featuring singer Lalah Hathaway, which won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Song and nominee 'He's Been Just That Good' and 'Everything Is Everything: The Music of Donny Hathaway' (2010) went to number three. 'Romance Language' (2012) and 'Human Nature' (2013) reached number two on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart; 'The Gospel According to Jazz - Chapter IV' (2015), which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, 'bwb' (2016) and '#LOVECOVERS' (2017) all topped the chart and 'Humanite' (2019) peaked at number four. He toured with late singer Whitney Houston and performs a solo on her hit single 'I Will Always Love You'. His 2020 schedule was to include performances at venues in Lyon and Arles in France plus Reading, PA, Detroit, MI, Mableton, GA and San Antonio, TX in America.

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